1. Kid Icarus: Uprising ; I consider this to be one of the best games Nintendo has ever put out and as you all know: that's some high praise indeed. Sakurai and his team have managed to pack this game so full of great ideas and stuff to do, this could easily be the only game you'll play all year. Perfect controls, beautiful graphics, spectacular music and very funny dialogues with a huge cast of charming characters make this a true Nintendo classic.
2. Dragon's Dogma ; The game Elder Scrolls wished it could be again. This is a game that ticks all the boxes I want adventure games to tick: A huge and beautifully designed world, pitch-black nights, giant monsters, intuitive and hugely satisfying combat, hardly any fast-travel (gotta prepare before venturing forth!). It may not be perfect; side-quests are pretty terrible for the most part, too few dungeons, technical issues and even though I find the game incredibly charming, the characters certainly don't attribute to this. On the whole though, this is a true adventure game in a day and age where true adventure games are a rare commodity. Treasure this one folks.
3. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward ; I just finished this (seriously not half an hour ago), but I had already planned to put this on spot 3. I think I can safely say this is the most interesting and well told story in any video game I have ever played. It constantly has you guessing at its goings-on and just when you think you have a sound theory they throw new, mindblowing info at you. It certainly helps if you've played 999, and if you haven't, there's probably something wrong with you. VLR is the better one though, the stories' twists and turns may seem far-fetched sometimes, but they're handled very convincingly in the context of the game. If I had to criticise the game, it would be on two points. First off is the art-style. 999 had hand-drawn characters, this had cheap looking 3d models. I found this to be a huge downgrade and I sincerely hope the third one will go back to hand-drawn characters. Second is the fact that you have to replay a lot of similar parts of the story. It's all logical, but after reading unskippable dialogue that's 99% the same as previously encountered it can get a bit tedious as times. It doesn't matter in the long run though, this is one of the best told stories in gaming and everyone needs to experience it.
4. Paper Mario: Sticker Star ; Don't listen to reviews on this one, it's great. They may have axed a lot of elements that people consider to be integral to the best Paper Mario's (story and rpg system), but I say: give this one a chance. It's not like they didn't add new elements to the mix. There's a bigger focus on exploration and puzzling. In fact, the game has some point 'n click blood running through its vains it seems. Nintendo also finally decided to let go of our hands and let us figure stuff out on our own. The more negative reviews I've read name this as one of their biggest problems with the game. Do people really want literally everything spelled out for them? I thought we were all clamouring for a return to this style of gameplay. When Skyward Sword was released last year, people were all on Nintendo's shit for making it too hand-holdy, now they made a game that holds no hands and people are lost and confused? Fuck off. This game makes players think for themselves and I for one find this to be a breath of fresh air. It caters more to oldskool gaming fans and the game is all the better for it.
5. Borderlands 2 ; I did not expect this. Borderlands 1 was fun, but had a lot of issues; boring quests, weak pay-off, repetitive. Borderlands 2 is everything Borderlands 1 could have been. The game is funny as hell, the maps are way more diverse, everything just gels better and also has one of the year's best villains in Handsome Jack. Unfortunately the quests haven't fared as well, they still suffer from some major repetitiveness and a lot are very uninspired, but the core of the game is shooting shit and the game passes with flying colors in that respect, even in the shitty missions.
6. Legend of Grimrock ; aka the succesful return of the dungeon crawler. I'm sure there have been many more before this, but I don't think they did it with as much gusto as Legend of Grimrock. In essence, this is the same game Dungeon Master was back in the day, but updated and modernized in all the right areas, never losing sight of what makes these games awesome.
7. Dishonored ; Not quite the game I hoped it would be, but by and large a succesful entry in the sneaking genre. At its best the game is exhilerating; getting into places you're not supposed to be, the feeling of tension is almost palpable. This extends to quite a few missions and it's that aspect that made the game earn its number 6 slot. Then there's the bad side, or rather, the side I don't agree with. This is a mainstream game. It is incredibly easy and the player had way too many aids to make this game a cake walk. I started on hard, but after not feeling challenged in any way I switched to the hardest setting and unfortunately, the challenge still remained elusive. Had the game ommited all the various superpowers, or at the very least Blink, the game would be infinitely more interesting. That's not to say the game doesn't work, it's simply a personal preference. I'm sure there are droves of people that like the powers the player has and I've seen some very impressive videos on youtube by players that really use the combat system creatively in a way I never did. It's just that I personally don't want combat to factor in the game at all. I suppose I'd rather the game was Thief 4, but don't take that to mean I don't like the game. It's quality through and through and for the most part I love it and I wish more of these will be made.
8. ZombiU ; A return to survival horror? Yes please! The grimy setting, purposely stiff combat, inventory management, perma-death, methodically scanning environments for secrets and clues all the while trying to survive the zombie apocalypse sounds like a dream game come true, right? Well, it's not quite there yet, but ZombiU makes a very good case for the genre. Everything I mentioned is in the game, most of it doesn't quite work the way you'd like to see, but in the end, it still very much works. The game is very forgiving about dying. There's basically no penalty, you start with a fresh survivor and all you have to do is kill you previous (zombified) survivor to get all your loot back. Not that it really matters though, all important upgrades are automatically transferred to your new survivor. There's also very few secrets to actually uncover and the loot is always the same: some healing items, some bullets. Now, you need this stuff, but if getting hungry actually was a problem in the game, finding food would mean something. My biggest issue with the game is probably that the game follows a very linear path. Items spawn, story doors unlock and zombie attacks occur all when the game wants them to, making the experience feel more restrictive than it should. Games like Dark Souls or Metroid present worlds where the items exist in the world, waiting for the player to be uncovered if he has the right idea of where to look or if he has the right skillset or tools. This also applies to ZombiU, but it's just not quite on par with those games. If it seems I'm being overly negative; I don;t think I am. I love that ZombiU even has all these aspect in there to begin with, I'm just saying, should ZombiU 2 ever be made (I hope it will be) there's a lot of room for improvement. But as it stands I'm very happy with ZombiU for simply being the game it is.
9. Rhythm Heaven Fever ; Rhythm Heaven Perfection more like. This is the best, most creative rhythm-based game I've played, bar none. The vast majority of mini-games are just a constant stream of joy. If you don't have a giant smile on your face playing this game, I do believe I hate you.
10. Hotline Miami ; Talk about coming out of left-field. When I first heard the title I thought it would be some cheap dating sim or something. Then I clicked the title and saw the high scores it was getting. Color me interested, but what is it? I quickly looked up a video and after a few seconds figured it would be a top-down shooter like a million other ones. What made the game score so highly though? Then I read some reviews and I think he Eurogamer one or the RPS wrote-up convinced me (maybe both). I vbought the game and liek so many here, was blown away. This a neon-colored, raw, filthy, uncomfortable, drug-infused, methodical slaughterhouse of a game and...I...love...it. Story's interesting too even if I don't think get it at all.
Honorable Mentions:
x. The Unfinished Swan ; A great little "experience" game like Journey. This has to be viewed as an interactive childrens book and a charming one at that. The game has some great gameplay ideas and even if the controls are sometimes a bit janky, the game's beautiful vistas make sure you are never bored. Well, that and the game is only 3 hours long.
x. Risen 2 ; A good sequel to the even better original. The good folks at Piranha Bytes sure know how to craft game worlds. If you don't care too much about story, combat, technical prowess and character development, but just want to explore beautiful islands, then this is the game for you. The game really does have quite a few flaws, but PB knows what the fans want out of their games and it's those aspects that they absolutely nail.
x. The Book of Unwritten Tales ; Fantastic point 'n click adventure with a surprisingly decent translation and some genuinely good humor. Won't win points for originality (it basically copies the classic LucasArts games), but it is a great entry to the genre nontheless. The puzzles are varied and most importantly, logical. You'll rarely be stumped by the puzzles, but they still make you feel smart for solving them (especially later on when they do get more difficult). Highly recommended for fans of the genre.
x. New Super Mario Bros. U ; It's NSMB, what more do you need to know. The reason I would choose this over NSMB2 is that this one at least tries to feel fresh even if it is the same game again. The updated graphics look great, the SMW style overworld makes a very welcome return and the levels are actually quite long (sometimes they feel stetched out though). To be brutally honest, I think NSMB2 has this game beat in level design, but where that game played it safe, this at least added some new features. And while I'm at it: I quite like the new main theme (BAH's excepted of course).
x. Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy ; only FF fans need apply. If you are, great, ifnot move along. Then again: who the hell doesn't like FF's music? Cute aesthetics and solid mechanics only add to the package
x. New Super Mario Bros. 2 ; This or NSMBU? A harder choice than you might think. NSMB2 is pretty villified on Gaf for some reason. I get it though: it's a predictable entry, with trademark shitty music, aesthetically safe and it seems so much like a cash-in. But play and find a game superior not to just NSMB1 (still the highest scoring one of the bunch, shows what critics know) but NSMBWii as well. It's all in the level design. It's more dense and stuffed with more hidden stuff than you can shake a stick at. Levels rarely repeat themselves and it's more based on exploration than most 2D Mario's, NSMBU included. If NSMB2 had NSMBU's overworld, this would be one of the best 2D Mario's out there.
x. The Walking Dead ; The story and characters make this, but it's a shame the game tries to be so much more and falls flat on its face trying to do so. The puzzles are insultingly simplistic and i the end, your choices have precious little impact on the story, making them feel insignificant. Add to that a number of bugs and glitches (which is unforgivable for a game in which you effectively do nothing) and you're left with nothing but story and its inhabitants. Thank God they nailed that aspect at least and of course those count the most in this type of game.
x. Sleeping Dogs ; one of the more solid games this year. A well designed world, likeable cast, good music, solid mechanics, decent story. There's nothing really wrong with this game, it's just also not very surprising. I feel like I've done all the game has to offer before, making me feel like I'm going through the motions sometimes.
x. Binary Domain ; I generally don't like shooters like this, but BD is an exception. Fun characters and story, very satisfying gunplay (most satisfying headshots ever?) very diverse levels and situations make this a great entry in a genre that usually bores the tears out of me with games like Gears of War and its ilk.
x. Journey ; Not quite as memorable as many would have you believe, but still a gorgeous game that desereves to be experienced at least once. After that, it loses much of its power as it tries to keep players interested by giving us "gamey" things to do, which is a shame because as game it's not very interesting.
x. Nintendo Land ; Pretty surprising, this one. €60 for a collection of minigames? What the hell Nintendo! After playing it, I understood though. This is worth full price. Most of these games are extremely well thought out and feels just right, they certainly have that Nintendo polish. As I don't generally play MP, I rarely get to experience the game the way it's meant to be, but it's obvious from watching videos and my limited time playing it in mp that this could very well be amongst the best party games ever devised.
x. Hitman: Absolution ; I guess this being my first Hitman game is a good thing. I loved a lot of levels in this and found the grindhouse-style and weird-ass humor to be very effective. There were a few bum levels (Dexter Industries...ugh) and the game focused a bit too much on evasion-style levels, but the sheer diversity and mindblowing graphics (some of the best I've seen) coupled with a very thick atmosphere made this an extremely enjoyable game to me. I'm gonna be playing Blood Money next and I'm very curious to see if it manages to tarnish my view on Absolution like it seems to have done to many people.
Most Disappointing.
Not gonna waste too much time on these. These were simply the game I expected a lot of, but turned out to be shit or just very mediocre.
-Far Cry 3 ; way too mainstream and safe for its own good. What little good the game did (pretty game world, amazing villain in Vaas, some cool randomness in the world) was wasted by its insulting game design. FC2 dared to be different and stumbled, but at least kept its dignity. FC3 just wants to be like the rest and blends in with the crowd. A sellout if you will.
-Mass Effect 3 ; I say disappointing, but the signs were clear: ME1 was a fairly open rpg with a LOT of problems that needed fixing, but it had the right idea. ME2 dropped everything that needed fixing in favor of more linear shoot-outs. No surprise that ME3 was made to be a linear corridor shooter. In its defense: the mechanics are pretty good and I liked spending some more time with the Normandy crew that I have grown to like and sometimes love, it's just such a shame that ME has become just another shooter.
-Max Payne 3 (I'm seeing a pattern here) ; great shooting mechanics, likeable lead and interesting story can't hide the fact that the levels suck. There a few good ones, but by and large I felt very bored by the same damn "rooms full of dudes" structure the game has. The game felt very one-note.
-Gravity Rush ; Vita needed this one. On paper (and in trailers) it looked so good. The game has a likeable lead in Kat, great graphics and a great concept, it's too bad the devs forgot to actually make a game out of it. I's like the missions were an afterthought. "Here, just fight dozens of enemies...AGAIN!" A bore to play through and it should have been so good.
-Darksiders 2 ; A typically bland and boring sequel. The kind that should never be allowed to exist. Instead of acknowledging the flaws in Darksiders 1 (which was a nice try at least), they went ahead and made the same game again. Boring dungeons designs, drab graphics, shitty world design. No Zelda will be challenged by this weak copycat.
